Medium pacer Munaf Patel, who is nursing a groin injury, will leave the tour of Sri Lanka mid-way to return home for rehabilitation and Tamil Nadu paceman Laxmipathy Balaji will replace him in Colombo.

"Patel will take at least 7-10 days to be fully fit. The members of the National Selection Committee decided to send L Balaji to Sri Lanka, following a teleconference (with the team management)," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement issued today.